Gingered Cranberry-Pear Pie

Pie is something I bear shut very seriously, both the making and ingesting of it. My mom and grandmothers position the bar high (learning how one can construct a correct pie is practically a ceremony of passage in Midwest farm country), and my husband grew up in a family of pie lovers. On both aspects of our family, the Thanksgiving dessert desk normally consists of a lot of pumpkin pies, pecan, and now and again apple — and in the case of my husband’s Nebraskan family, bitter cream and raisin. As important I delight in every of those alternatives, I incessantly salvage them too well to set and candy after a major meal. This contest gave me the ideally excellent excuse to have my ideally excellent Thanksgiving pie, and this gingered cranberry-pear one is the quit result.

I started with an all-butter pie dough that’s rolled in gingersnap cookie crumbs, an idea I picked up from Martha Stewart’s buttermilk pie the place the dough is rolled in graham cracker crumbs. It’s the ideally excellent resolution whenever you happen to may perchance well also’t reach to a option between a pastry and gingersnap crust, and the crumbs construct the dough a drag to roll out. From there, I layered the crust with thinly sliced pears, then cranberries simmered with ginger, orange, and rosemary (a taste combination inspired by a cranberry-rosemary soda I made last drop). It’s festive, boldly flavored, and lovely in presentation, with its candy-tartness a refreshing alternate of tempo after a major turkey dinner. I may perchance well also by no manner be in a spot to bear shut pumpkin pie off the Thanksgiving menu, nonetheless this pie will positively construct a most welcome addition to the dessert desk. —EmilyC

Instructions

1. To construct the gingersnap cookie pie crust:
   In a meals processor, blitz your gingersnap cookies the utilization of the heart beat characteristic unless they’re finely and uniformly ground. Scheme shut, position aside, and wipe dapper the bowl of your meals processor. (Cookie crumbs may perchance also be prepped a lot of days upfront; retailer in an air-tight container.)
2. Next, pulse flour, salt, and brown sugar to combine about three times. Scatter butter pieces over the flour mixture, then pulse unless the butter is in regards to the scale of peas, about 8 to 10 short pulses. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over mixture and pulse a pair of times, then repeat with 1 tablespoon of water at a time, or real unless cramped curds open to originate and the dough holds together when pinched with your fingers. (Alternatively, that it’s possible you’ll also create this by hand.) Own dough real into a 4-traipse disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate unless agency, about 1 hour. (Dough may perchance also be refrigerated as a lot as a pair days upfront; enable to melt on the counter earlier than rolling it out.)
3. Scheme shut the dough from the fridge. Spread gingersnap crumbs on a dapper work flooring (I delight in the utilization of a sheet of parchment paper). Roll out dough on high of crumbs, coating both aspects, real into a 11-traipse spherical about 1/8 traipse thick. At ease out crumbs infrequently to distribute evenly. Gently fit dough real into a 9-traipse pie plate, and crimp edges as desired. Freeze shell at least half-hour earlier than baking, or totally sit again in the fridge.
4. Preheat oven to 400° F. Line shell with parchment or foil, and beget with pie weights or dried beans. Bake unless golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Scheme shut pie weights and parchment. Let frigid entirely.
5. TO MAKE FILLING AND ASSEMBLE PIE:
   Build aside 1/2 cup of cranberries. Bring last cranberries, turbinado sugar, and orange juice to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high warmth, stirring recurrently to dissolve sugar. Cook, stirring, real unless cranberries open to pop and release their juice, about 3 minutes. Right here is the time to taste for sweetness. Add extra sugar in the event you rating a much less tart filling. Drain cranberries in a sieve position over a bowl to purchase the juice; you have to beget about 1 cup. Assign cranberries in a cramped bowl, and whisk to your reserved 1/2 cup of cranberries. Build aside.
6. Return strained cranberry juice to a saucepan and add ginger, orange rind, and rosemary. Simmer liquid over medium-low warmth unless thickened and reduced by half of, about quarter-hour. Scheme shut from warmth and let frigid earlier than taking out the ginger, orange, and rosemary to command extra taste. Using a vivid-mesh strainer, pour syrup over cranberries. Discard solids.
7. Warmth oven to 350° F. Brush a par-baked pie crust with the egg white to forestall sogginess. Evenly layer the crust with thinly sliced pears, initiating all over the periphery and dealing your technique to the heart; once carried out, your pears should peaceable be 3 to 4 layers deep. Prime with your cranberry mixture, spreading it to the edges and making clear it’s evenly disbursed. Bake unless syrup has thickened, berries open to brown, and pears are delicate (focus on about with tip of a knife), about 45 to 50 minutes. If pastry edges brown too mercurial, duvet with a band of foil.
8. Let pie frigid on a rack. Lend a hand warmth or at room temperature with freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.